V 




ISSUED BY 

LAND DEPARTMENT 

OF THE 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern and 

Little Rock & Fort Smith Railways 

Little Rock, Arkansas 



SOUTHWEST 
ARKANSAS 



f 


World's Fair 

Industrial Series— No. 10 (First Edition) 

By S. L Kay 





Issued by LAND DEPARTMENT of the St. LOUIS, 
Iron Mountain & Southern and Little Rock 
& Fort Smith Railways, Little Rock, Arkansas 



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>M iO 1905 



1^ Introdudory ^ 



Ambition, industry, patience and good judgment are the pil- 
lars which support the bridge that leads from poverty to opulence. 
Fortune knocks constantly at the door of every man who pos- 
sesses them, and the young man who has these attributes will 
make life successful if he is started aright. 

"Our lives are but a span'' and if success is to attend our efforts 
we can ill afford to waste our days in "rainbow chasing," or fol- 
lowing up plans which are based upon uncertain or fictitious 
foundations. 

The man who contemplates seeking a new home should inves- 
tigate carefully the various localities which are brought to his 
notice. He should remember that "the best is none too good" 
to serve his ends, for the comfort, happiness and future pros- 
perity of his family depends upon his wise decision. He should 
bring all proposed sections into a competitive examination by 
correspondence, before starting on his trip of inspection, and 
every peculiar condition of each should be carefully weighed and 
credited up or charged off as they show up under the test, and 
to visit the best of these offerings he should make up the itin- 
erary for his homeseeking trip. Every practical home-seeker has 
formed an ideal, which is a composite of many single features. 
His aim is to produce certain marketable commodities, and the 
soil, the surface, the elevation, the climate and transportation 
facilities all contribute to make up the desired whole. If he 
locates where he cannot successfully or profitably produce the 



crops which he has learned to cultivate and handle, poverty will 
most certainly "stalk in at his door" before he can hunt up and 
locate in a new country suited to his desires, or learn the new 
trade of producing crops hitherto strange to him. 

In the following pages we hope to place Southwest Arkansas 
so plainly and accurately before our reader that he may clearly 
understand the adaptabilities of each particular county as it is 
described. We shall give our account of each section exactly 
as we understand it, after having spent several years in this field, 
examining the soils and observing returns given as a result of 
tillage. We will try to make these pages as comprehensive as an 
official document, stating briefly all facts which may be potent 
in giving the reader a thorough and clear understanding, upon 
which he may safely venture to the expense of a personal inves- 
tigation. 

The native growth of grass and timber, the composition of 
the soil, the character and extent of mineral deposits, the general 
lay of the surface, the climate, the class of settlement, the educa- 
tional, transportation and market facilities, the acreage and range 
of prices at which available lands can be had and the names and 
approximate population of leading cities and towns will be given 
as accurately as possible. 

We want to especially emphasize the fact that the interests 
of the settler and the publisher of this booklet are the same; your 
success will contribute to the future profitable business of the Rail- 
road Company, while your failure means to this company the loss 
of that business. It is therefore desired that the reader may feel 
that the information given in these pages is faithfully compiled in 
his own interest, and this pamphlet is respectfully dedicated to 
him, hoping that the invitation here given, to come to Southwest 
Arkansas to make his future home, may be accepted, and after- 
ward prove to have been "The knock of fortune at his door." 




SOUTHWEST 
ARKANSAS 




GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

Southwest Arkansas is so widely varied in its natural condi- 
tions that but little can be said which will apply to all parts of 
this comparatively small area. In one section will be found broad 
plains, while in another closely packed mountains rise precip- 
itiously from the narrow beds of the streams; here light alluvial 
and wonderfully fertile soils, easy to cultivate and maintain, cover 
wide areas, while there, broken and water-worn rocks cover the 
whole face of the earth; now sylvan giants tower thick and tall, 
and again we find the timber to be short, scattering and scrubby; 
on this side broad, deep, majestic rivers, on whose placid bosoms 
busy steamers ply, while on that side narrow, rapid mountain 
brooks, broken by whirlpools and cataracts, form the entire drain- 
age system; in this portion, the soil, with its great forest of 
valuable timber, forms the only, but inexhaustible resource, while 
in that the earth seems filled with valuable minerals or innumerable 
varieties. It is a country of wonderful diversities, and as the 
traveler passes through it, he is astonished at the quick and 
rapidly succeeding changes in all the visible features of surface 
and vegetable growth. In a country like this, no accurate descrip- 
tion can be given if we attempt to write of it as a whole. 

There is, however, one common feature in which all sections 
share alike: a mild, equable, salubrious climate, pleasant days at 
all seasons of the year, cool nights in summer, with a short, mild 
winter, there being- iust enough of frosty weather to make one 



glad when it is over without having had to meet the heavy expense 
of localities further north. Bright skies bend over this fruitful 
land, showering an eternal benison upon her happy and pros- 
perous homes. In this treatise we will take up one county at a 
time, beginning at the northeast corner of the section, with 



SALINE COUNTY. 

Area, 622 Square Miles. Population. 13.122. County Seat, Benton. 
Railroad Lands for Sale. 44,617.84 Acres. 

This county adjoins Pulaski county on the southwest and ex- 
tends from the Arkansas River on the east, well up the slopes of the 
Magazine mountains on the west, and presents a great diversity 
of elevation, surface, soil and products. While cotton and corn 
form the great and almost exclusive products of the river bottom 
lands of the extreme east, the adaptability of the soil gradually 
changes as we go w^est and ascend from the bottoms to the gently 
undulating lands of the "hill country" and a great diversity of 
crops is seen, and almost the entire list of human necessities can 
be profitably produced. Here cotton, corn, small grains, fruits 
and live stock all bear their share of the profit and call for their 
share of the attention of the farmer. Here the soil is a dark 
sandy loam, with a foundation of red and yellow clay. As we 
pass further west, gravel, water-worn pebbles, broken rock and 
then great mountains of solid stone appear, and the country 
changes from a general farming to a live stock and fruit country. 
Iron, aluminum (bauxite), lead, coal, potter's clay, Fuller's earth, 
granite, slate and hone stone are found, and some of the deposits 
are being profitably worked. It may be truthfully said of Saline 
county, that within her borders you may find natural resources 
and conditions to suit almost any fancy. Game and fish are still 
plentiful and the extreme western or mountain section is a very 
popular place among the business men of Little Rock and other 
neighboring cities, in which to spend summer vacations, and to 
which to take outing trips. Benton is the chief city and is a 
thriving little business point and railroad center, with a popula- 
tion of about 1,500. Other leading towns and villages are Bryant, 
Traskwood, Germania, Bauxite and Farrells. In the extreme 



east a considerable number of negroes are employed upon the 
great cotton plantations of the river bottom, while in all other 
parts the population is composed exclusively of whites. School 
and church facilities are good. 

Wild lands can be had at attractive prices, and Improved lands 
can occasionally be picked up at bargains. The government plats 
show quite an acreage of vacant land still open to homestead 
entry in the remote and mountain sections. 



GARLAND COUNTY. 

A.rea, 622 Square Miles. Population, 18,773. County Seat, Hot Springs. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 26,456.60 Acres. 

This county lies entirely within the hill and mountain country. 
It is crossed by the Ouachita River, into which many clear moun- 
tain brooks run from both north and south. Thousands of acres 
of fine alluvial land skirts the streams, where cotton, corn, small 
grains, potatoes, melons and garden truck are raised in great 
quantities, while the slopes and plateaus contain much fertile 
soil suitable for fruit and vegetable raising. Stock raising, and 
especially dairying, is very profitable. 

With the exceptions of aluminum and coal the mineral depos- 
its known to exist in Garland county are about the same as those 
of Saline. Hone stone and slate are now being quarried and 
shipped in large quantities, and as the deposits of these commod- 
ities are very large and of fine quality, they wull form the basis 
of leading permanent industries of the locality. 

The far famed City of Hot Springs is the metropolis of Gar- 
land county, and has a permanent population of more than ten 
thousand, with a hotel capacity for accommodating about fifty 
thousand strangers. We have not the space available here to 
describe this, the world's greatest health and pleasure resort, and 
will only add that no visitor to our State should leave without 
visiting Hot Springs. A beautiful illustrated booklet, describing 
the city in detail, is published by H. C. Townsend, General Pas- 
senger and Ticket Agent of the Missouri Pacific-Iron Mountain 
System, at St. Louis, Mo., and if you will write to him and request 
it, he will promptly forward you a copy free of charge. 

The general surface of this county is so rugged and rockv that 



sufficient land will never be reduced to cultivation to supply the 
almost insatiable demands of the Hot Springs hotels, and the man 
who secures a farm in this count}'^, upon which a few acres can be 
planted to garden, stocks his rough land to dairy animals and poul- 
try, and then settles down to supply and cater to the demands 
of the Hot Springs market, will have an opulent income and an 
enjoyable home as long as he choses to cultivate and enjoy it. 

Railroad lands are still available at from $3.50 per acre up, 
according to quality of soil and proximity to the city, while 
improved lands range higher proportionate to the value of 
improvements. 



HOT SPRING COUNTY. 

Area, 626 Square Miles. Population. 12,748. County Seat, Malvern. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 10,168 Acres. 

Bordering Garland county on the south and east, Hot Spring 
county is similar to the former in surface and soil, except that it 
extends well out from the mountains, toward the east, into the 
hill countr}^ so that about one-third of the surface is gently 
rolling, just right for farming, with a soil which is well adapted 
for general agriculture. Corn, cotton, wheat, oats, rye, sorghum, 
potatoes, melons, cantaloupes, early apples, peaches, pears and 
berries all do well here. The great forests of pine ,oak, C3^press 
and other woods which grew over the face of this county are 
rapidly disappearing and giving place to ^^tock ranches, larms, 
orchards and gardens. The minerals of the county are slate, hone 
stone, of which two varieties are found, iron, salt and lignite coal. 
The country districts are almost exclusively people by whites, 
while in the towns and about the great sawmills a considerable 
number of colored people are found. Malvern is the county seat 
and chief city, and is a prosperous and growing place of about 
3,000 population, located on the Iron Mountain Railway main 
line and is reached by a branch of the Choctaw, Oklahoma and 
Gulf. Gifford and Witherspoon are also growing villages on 
the Iron Mountain road. At Malvern are located brick manufac- 
turing plants, the output of which is unequaled for color and 
durability by that of any other locality in the section. 



Good schools are maintained and all leading religious denom- 
inations are represented in all parts of the county. 

Wild lands can be had at very low prices, owing to the rapidity 
with which the forests are being cut out, after which most of the 
lands are offered for sale to those who desire them for agricultural 
purposes. 

GRANT COUNTY. 

Area, 617 Square Miles. Population, 7,671. County Seat, Sheridan. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 5,440 Acres. 

Few of the counties of our State are so fortunate as Grant 
in surface and drainage, and while the entire county is undulating 
enough to drain well, but a very small portion is so rolling as 
to wash away the fertility of the soil, or to prevent its cultivation. 
The county is crossed by many never failing, clear streams, fed 
by thousands of bold springs. The soil is a light sandy loam, 
much like that of the adjoining county of Saline, and is underlaid 
at a good depth by red clay. In the northwestern section there 
is some gravel, perfectly suited for the purpose of road building, 
and several ledges of good building stone are found. Coal is 
found in the northwest and is supposed to underlie the entire 
county. In the broad valleys of Saline River and Hurricane, Den- 
ison. Lost and Francois creeks the soil is a dark, rich alluvium. 
Almost the entire acreage of the county is susceptible to profitable 
cultivation and adapted to all the products suited to this latitude. 
This county is noted as the place where the TuU apple originated. 
This apple has earned great popularity, owing to its especial 
adaptbility to the climate and soil of the lower hill country of 
central and southern Arkansas, and for its fine flavor, beauty of 
color and remarkable keeping qualities. When cleared of its mil- 
lions upon millions of dollars worth of fine pine, oak, hickory and 
other woods. Grant county will rapidly develop into a fine general 
farming, fruit and stock raising country. Game is still plentiful 
in the more thinly settled parts, and fish abound in every stream. 

Sheridan is the county seat and the only town of importance 
and has a population of about 8oo. It has recently been reached 
by the first railroad to penetrate the county, and the future of the 
place is bright. 



The Iron Mountain Railway lines run close to both the east 
and west boundaries and have always given the county good 
railroad facilities. The Pine Bluff and Western Railroad now 
bisects the county from southeast to northwest and is exerting 
a great influence in developing the locality and settling up the 
unoccupied lands which are just now being placed upon the 
market, after having been cut over. 

The population of Grant county is almost exclusively white. 
Schools are maintained in all settled sections, furnishing educa- 
tional privileges to all. 

Here is one of the most inviting fields for colonization work 
to be found in the State, and well organized, active effort will 
bring fair profits to the promoters and place hundreds of families 
in the possession of comfortable, prosperous and happy homes, 
who are now toiling "with might and main" to keep want from 
the rented fireside. 



DALLAS COUNTY. 

Area, 676 Square Miles. Population, 11,518. County Seat, Princeton. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 3,520 Acres. 

This county lies south of those of Grant and Hot Spring and 
is largely composed of hill lands, which vary in character of sur- 
face from heavily rolling to gently undulating, with occasional 
level alluvial bottoms, of which latter class possibly 25 per cent 
of the acreage of the county consists. 

The Saline River and Bayou Moro on the east, Bayou Tulip 
in the center and the Ouachita River on the west and their trib- 
utaries form a fine drainage system. 

The soils of the uplands are generally a light sandy loam., easy 
to till and very fertile. Dallas county exceeds all other Arkansas 
counties in the variety and value of the clays which compose its 
subsoil, which are suited to the manufacture of all articles usually 
made from clay, such as china, earthenware, pottery, tile, fire 
and building brick and terra cotta. Lignite coal, which yields an 
average of forty gallons of oil to the ton, has been found in several 
places, and doubtless underlies the entire county. 

The native timber growth covers a very wide range of varie- 
ties, but pine and oak on the uplands and oak, ash, cottonwood 



and cypress on the bottoms are the great leaders in merchantable 
value. 

The soils of Dallas are adapted to almost anything that her 
people may desire to raise. Cotton, corn, sorghum, small grains, 
fruits and live stock all do well. The county being rather sparsely 
settled and heavily timbered, game is plentiful. 

Fordyce, the leading city, is a thriving, modern town of about 
2,000 inhabitants, with up-to-date business houses, residences, 
schools and churches. 

The Cotton Belt Railway cuts the southeast corner of the 
county, with two branches penetrating the section from the south. 

Prices of railroad land range from $3.50 per acre up, accord- 
ing to diversity of soil, desirability of location and value of timber 
growth. 



CLARK COUNTY. 

Area, 905 Square Miles. Population, 21,289. County Seat, Arkadelphia. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 7,200 Acres. 

About one-third of this county is level, the balance ranging 
from gently rolling at the Iron Mountain right of way and rising 
gradually toward the northwest and becoming mountainous in 
some parts of the northwest. Few counties of Arkansas are 
so bountifully supplied with good water and at the same tmie so 
thoroughly drained by nature. The beautiful Ouachita River and 
Caddo Creek pass through the north part, the Terre Noir rises 
from many springs in the western part and flows southeast 
through the center of the county, while the Little Missouri and 
its largest tributary, the Antoine, form the southern and 
western boundaries. All these streams have wide and wonderfully 
fertile bottoms, with black soil, and many of the finest and most 
profitable farms of the State are found here. Like the preceding 
counties, this has been a splendid timber country and large areas 
of exclusively hardwood forest grew on these black lands. 

All the soils of Clark county are fertile, and while underlaid 
by clay, there is a foundation of chalk and gravel, in which sheet 



water is found in inexhaustible quantities, and filtered until it is 
as clear as crystal, and pure and healthful. 

Slate, chalk, salt and coal have been found, and asphaltum 
and petroleum are suspected to underlie a portion of this favored 
county. Fine gravel for ballast and road building is found in 
all parts. 

Corn, cotton, sorghum, oats, wheat, potatoes, melons, canta- 
loupes, peaches, apples, pears, berries and vegetables of all kinds, 
likewise all varieties of live stock do well. Game is becoming 
scarce in the more thickly settled sections, but fish are plentiful 
and the beautiful banks of the picturesque streams of the locality 
offer hundreds of fine camping and fishing places. 

Arkadelphia, with a population of about 4,000, is the county 
seat and leading city, is noted over the efntire Southwest as a 
grand educational center. With two immense colleges and an 
admirable system of graded public schools, all well attended, she 
has well earned her crowning glory — "The Athens of Arkansas," 
Gurdon is also a thriving city and railroad division station and 
is surrounded by a good farming country; while many other 
promising villages are located along the various railroads which 
cross the county and give outlets for her products to markets in 
all directions. 

Wild lands range in price all the way from $3.50 to $25.00 
per acre, while improved farms may be had at prices sufficiently 
advanced above these to cover the cost of the improvements. 



PIKE COUNTY. 

Area, 620 Square Miles. Population, 10,301. County Seat, Murfreesboro. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 428.03 Acres. 

Extending from the high ranges of the Ouachita mountains 
on the north to the broad bottom of the Little Missouri River on 
the south, this county possesses a great range of altitude and a 
correspondingly great variation in the composition of the soil. 
Many beautiful streams traverse the surface and give the county 



a fine water supply. The soil, where free from stone, is easily 
tilled and very fertile. 

Asphaltum is found in large quantities and is being- shipped to 
leading cities all over the southwest to be used for paving pur- 
poses. Antimony, gypsum, silver, greensands and limestone are 
found, and indications for petroleum are good. 

Pike City is the leading town and Antoine is a growing village 
and shipping point. Schools and churches are established in all 
parts of the county. 

Wild lands can be purchased at very low prices, and in the 
more remote and mountainous parts it is said that fertile govern- 
ment lands are still available for homestead entry. 



HOWARD COUNTY. 

Area, 629 Square Miles. Population, 14,676. County Seat, Nashville. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 359.73 Acres. 

This county lies on the south slope of the Ouachita moun- 
tains, and runs south nearly to the Red River. The county may 
be divided into three nearly equal areas, each having its peculiar 
surface and soil formations. The first, or northern district, being 
quite mountainous and rugged; the second, or central section, being 
hilly, and running from heavily rolling to gently undulating, and 
the last or southern and western section being composed of the 
level bottoms skirting the West Saline and other rivers. 

While the mountain and rougher hill sections are more or 
less rocky, the soils of the balance of the county are free from 
stone, and are composed of dark sandy and black loam.s. The 
West Saline River forms the western boundary and the entire 
drainage system of the county is formed by this stream and its 
tributaries. 

The minerals known to exist here are antimony, iron, gypsum, 
kaolin and coal, while indications are favorable for silver, lead, 
asphaltum and petroleum. 

All the natural conditions here are similar to those of Clark 
county, and the same crops thrive, and as soon as transportation 



facilities become more favorable, Howard will take her place 
among our most productive and profitable agricultural counties. 

Nashville is the leading city, a railroad station and a good 
trading point. 

Land prices range from $10.00 per acre down for wild lands, 
while improved bottom lands run as high as $25.00 per acre. 



HEMPSTEAD COUNTY. 

Area. 742 Square Miles. Population, 24,101. County Seat, Washington. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 22,880 Acres. 

This was one of the earliest settled counties in Southwest 
Arkansas. The famous black lands of the Ozan region attracted 
the early pioneers, and constantly since those early days Hemp- 
stead county has held a high place in both products and popula- 
tion among the counties of Arkansas. 

The general surface of this county is moderately rolling, 
approaching the level near the streams. The soil is varied in 
color and texture and is all very productive. Here are light sandy 
lands, black waxy lands and red lands, all underlaid by the red 
clay and gravel peculiar to all the hill country of this section, 
which lies south of the Ouachita River. In the creek and river 
bottoms a deep dark alluvium is found. Hempstead county is a 
fine general farming, fruit and vegetable country. Clover and 
alfalfa do well, and the vicinity of the city of Hope is especially 
noted for its fine peaches. Chalk and greensands are found, and 
clays suited to the manufacture of brick, tile and fire brick are 
common and of high quality. Hope is a beautiful modern city of 
about 3,000 population, with water works, electric lights, telephone 
system and other modern improvements. She has many blocks 
of fine brick business houses, several large factories, cotton gins 
and compresses, and four lines of railroad. She also has a fine 
system of graded public schools, a college and churches of all 
leading denominations. 

Owing to the extreme fertility of the surrounding lands, 
Hope is one of the most important cotton markets in the State, 



and several mammoth cotton storage houses with compresses arc 
located here. 

The business men of the city are wide-awake and progressive 
and offer attractive inducements to secure the location of substan- 
tial industries of all kinds. This is a good place in or neai 
which to secure a home, no matter what line of business or farm- 
ing you desire to engage in. Other important towns are Wash- 
ington, the county seat, and Fulton, at the crossing of the Iron 
Mountain Railroad over the Red River. 

vVild lands range in price from $3.50 per acre for lands oi 
medium soil located in the remote parts, up to $25.00 or $30.00 foi 
the best soils and most desirable locations. 



NEVADA COUNTY. 

Area, 616 Square Miles. Population, 16,609. County Seat, Prescott. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 7,440 Acres. 

This county adjoins Clark on the south, and, like Hempstead, 
has a very large acreage of fine general farm lands, where not only 
cotton and grains do well, but live stock, fruits, potatoes or any 
other crop which the farmer may desire to raise. This county is 
rich in coal and clay deposits, and petroleum will no doubt be 
found when proper prospecting is done. Artesian water has been 
found in several sections at a moderate depth. The timber growth 
consists mostly of pine and oak, and is fast disappearing under 
the present great demand for lumber. Like all the adjoining 
counties, this is destined to become a fine farming section, as the 
forest "is felled, and the wise man who comes in and buys a good 
body of land now while it is cheap, will have to wait but a few 
years in order to count his profits at the rate of several hundred 
per cent. Already large bodies are being bought up and fenced 
and stocked with improved cattle and hogs, and large areas are 
being cleared for planting to crops and pastures. 

Prescott, the count}^ seat and chief city, is a thriving place, 
where much attention is being given to manufacturing. Educa- 
tional and church facilities are good. 



OUACHITA COUNTY. 

Area, 732 Square Miles. Population, 20,892. County Seat, Camden. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 488.75 Acres. 

This county is centrally located in Southern Arkansas, and 
three-fourths of its surface is gently undulating, while the balance 
is level. The Ouachita River besects the county, and the Little 
Missouri forms a part of the north boundary . These great rivers 
with their numerous tributaries give the county as fine a water 
supply as can be found in the Union. The soil on the rolling por- 
tions is a rich, dark sandy loam, underlaid by red and yellow clay, 
while the bottoms are alluvial to a great depth. Clay and lignite 
coal are the principal minerals, while unimportant deposits of iron 
exist in some sections. This is a splendid timber country, and 
while much of the timber is still standing, it is rapidly going into 
the hands of parties who will cut it into lumber, cooperage and 
furniture. Cotton, corn, sorghum, cow peas, clover, alfalfa and 
oats are the leading field crops. Live stock of all kinds do well. 
Fruits, especially peaches, pears and berries, are profitably raised. 

Camden, the county seat, is the leading city, and has a popula- 
tion of 2,840. It is located at the junction of the Iron Mountain 
and the Cotton Belt Railways, and on the bank of the navigable 
Ouachita River, and is a great trade and industrial center. The 
United States land office or the South Arkansas land district is 
located here. Other growing towns in this county are Chidester, 
Eliott, Bearden, Onalaska, Ogamaw and Stephens. Schools and 
churches are established in all parts of the county, and land prices 
are low as compared with the earning capacity of the soil. 



LITTLE RIVER COUNTY. 

Area, 547 Square Miles. Population, 13,731. County Seat, Richmond. 
Railroad Lands for Sale, 3,020 Acres. 

This county is bounded on the north by Little River, on the 
south by the Red, and adjoins the Indian Territory on the west. 
There is a low ridge extending from the Territory line to the east 
through the center of the county, and the surface slopes gently 



both north and south to the bottom lands which skirt the streams. 
The soil is very rich and productive, and is adapted to cotton, 
corn, sorghum, small grains, clover, potatoes, peaches, small 
fruits and vegetables. Live stock does well and large numbers 
of cattle and hogs are raised. Chalk, limestone and salt are found. 
The chief town is Ashdown, while Rocky Comfort, Win- 
throp, Wilton and Hudson are good villages and shipping points. 
A large per cent of the population is colored, owing to the many 
great cotton plantations and sawmills, where they are employed 
in large numbers. 



LAFAYETTE COUNTY. 

Area, 497 Square Miles. Population, 10,594. County Seat, New Lewis- 
ville. Railroad Lands for Sale, 2,440 Acres. 

This county lies east of the Red River, and its south boundary 
is the Arkansas-Louisiana state line. The general lay of the sur- 
face ranges from gently rolling to flat. The soil of the uplands is 
a dark sandy loam, underlaid by red clay and gravel, while a 
deep bed of black alluvium covers the bottoms. The whole county 
is well watered and fertile. The leading cultivated crops are 
corn and cotton, but all crops grown in other Southwest Arkansas 
counties do well here. Clover and alfalfa have been found to do 
well on the uplands, which are underlaid by gravel or sandy sub- 
soil. All conditions here seem to indicate an especially favorable 
live stock county. Timber of this county consisting of pine, oak, 
ash, hickory, pecan and cypress, has for many years been a source 
of immense revenue to the people. Stamps, on the Cotton Belt 
and Louisiana & Arkansas Railroads, is the chief city, while New 
Lewisville is the county seat and a rapidly growing town. Educa- 
tional and church privileges are good. There is a considerable 
negro population on the plantations in the river bottoms, while 
the uplands are settled almost exclusively by whites. 

Good wild lands may still be purchased at from $3.00 to $10.00 
per acre, while improved farms can often be had at a reasonable 
advance to cover the cost of improvements. 



MILLER COUNTY. 

Area, 648 Square Miles. Population. 17,558. County Seat, Texarkana. 
Railroad L,ands for Sale, 3,240 Acres. 

This is the southwest corner county of the State, its west 
boundary being the Texas state line and its south boundary that 
of Louisiana. Its surface runs from gently rolling to level, and 
some of it very flat and subejct to occasional overflow from the 
Red and other rivers. The soil is extremely rich and fertile, and, 
like Little River and Lafayette counties, the bottoms are dark 
alluvium, while the hills are sandy loam with clay and gravel sub- 
soil. Cotton, corn, sorghum, oats and other small grains, live 
stock, peaches, pears, berries, potatoes and all varieties of veget- 
ables do well. 

This county, like the others which border on the Red River, 
would be greatly benefited by improvement of that stream, after 
which no more fertile and more profitable farming country will 
exist in the world. 

Texerkana is a thriving modern city of more than 5,000 popu- 
lation, and an important railroad center, having no less than eight 
lines radiating in all directions. It has also a large manufacturing 
business and wholesale trade. Wild lands are still available at 
prices ranging from $3.00 per acre up, according to location with 
reference to shipping points. 



RAILROAD LANDS. 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern and Little Rock & 
Fort Smith Railways own nearly two million acres of lands in the 
State of Arkansas, which are offered to actual settlers at low prices 
and on easy terms. These lands lie in the counties of Clay. Ran- 
dolph, Greene, Lawrence, Sharp, Craighead, Jackson, Independence, 




Map showing the Iron Mountain and Little Rock and Fort Smith 
Railroad Land Grants. 

Woodruff , White, Cleburne, Prairie, Lonoke, Pulaski, Saline, 
Grant, Garland, Hot Spring, Dallas, Clark, Pike, Howard, Sevier, 
Hempstead, Nevada, Ouachita, Little River, Miller, Lafayette, 
Faulkner, Perry, Conway, Van Buren, Pope, Johnson, Yell, Logan, 
Franklin, Crawford, Sebastian, Jefferson, Lincoln, Desha and Drew, 



and comprise lands of every description. For information relative 
to dates and routes of land excursions, the reader is requested to 
correspond with any of the agents named on pages 31 and 32 of 
this pamphlet. 



COME TO ARKANSAS. 

Since its admission into the Union Arkansas has never ceased 
to advance. She has never had a boom; she has never had a set- 
back. Her natural resources are so great and varied in their char- 
acter, so strong and far-reaching in their attractiveness, that immi- 
gration has, through all the years, come to her in a steady stream, 
and, like her great rivers, it never flows backward. 

There is not an acre of her surface which does not, in its wild 
state, produce something of value which can be turned into cash 
on the markets of the world. 

Her agricultural lands cover an area of more than twenty-five 
millions of acres, only about one-third of which are now under 
cultivation. 

Her lands which are especially adapted to fruit growing com- 
prise nearly twenty million acres, and not one-twentieth are now 
utilized for that purpose. 

More than seven million acres contain valuable minerals, 
almost entirely undeveloped, and much of it never having been 
prospected. 

In a coal field underlying nearly five million acres and yielding 
a quality of smokeless coal generally considered equal, and by some 
superior, to Pennsylvania hard coal, hardly a score of mines are 
operated. 

Her timber land originally covered almost the entire thirty- 
three million acres comprising the State, and there is enough mer- 
chantable timber now standing, which, if manufactured into lumber 
and sold at market price, would produce funds suf^cient to buy 
and pay for all the farming land in our sister State of Kansas at 
assessed valuation. 

Four million acres contain valuable architectural stone and 
clays, and it is almost untouched. 



A few of our medicinal springs are improved, and nearly an 
hundred thousand of the world's afflicted make annual pilgrimages 
to Arkansas to partake of the health and life-giving waters. 

More than three thousand miles of majestic, navigable rivers, 
almost entirely unimproved today, are destined to be converted 
into ship canals and commerce carriers, their immeasurable power 
utilized, and their banks lined by thousands of factories ere the 
passing of the present generation. 

With all these unused and undeveloped possessions, Arkansas 
invites the farmer, the fruit grower, the miner, the manufacturer, 
the merchant, the capitalist, the professional man, the invalid, the, 
industrious, the enterprising, the deserving of all vocations, to 
come and build their homes. Come! She will do you good! 



ofTba 



/ LAND DEPARTMENT 

of The StLot4«5lronMbuntdin dSou'tbGrQ/ 
and LitlleRock d FtSmifh Railway^g 



Sectionwed, topographical roller map of Arkansas, size 40 x 44 inches. This is the most 
comprehensive and complete map of the State ever compiled Price. 2Sc. Special Land 
Grant map of Arkansas. Free. 

THE FOLLOWING PAMPHLETS 

When ordered singly, will be sent Iree to any address When full set or more than one copy 
IS desired, two cents for each copy should be enclosed 10 pay cost of transmission 

ARKANSAS FILLS THE BILL. Free 

THE WORLD'S ORCHARD Free. 

ARKANSAS AS AN AGRICULTURAL STATE Free 

STOCK RAISING IN ARKANSAS Free 

MINERAL WEALTH OF ARKANSAS Free 

MANUFACTURING OPPORTUNITIES IN ARKANSAS Free 

TIMBER RESOURCES OF ARKANSAS Free 

NORTHEAST ARKANSAS Free. 

DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE. Free. 

GET A HOME IN ARKANSAS. Free. 

THE ARKANSAS VALLEY. Free 

SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. Free. 



Address all Requests for Literature t-^ 




NOTE -To those who desire 10 subscribe for an Agricultural Paper published in this State, we lake 
pleasure in recommending the ARKANSAS HOMESTEAD published monthly in Little Rock. Sub- 
scription price. 50 cents per year Sample copy sent free on application to the publisher 



^!^IW! 



VALUABLE ASSISTANCE 



THE: 



# 



ssovi^J 



PACIFIC IRON 

RAILWAY SYSTEM 



iWO(/yv> 



^It^ 



H.C.TOWNSEND. GenI Pa^s^engcr and TicKgI- A6It 

5t.Loui5( 



The following Traveling and Passenger Agents of llie Missouri Pacific Railway and Iron 
Mountain Route are constantly looking after tlie interests of llie line, and will call upon par- 
ties contemplating taking a trip and cheerfully furnish Ihcm lowest rales of fare. maps, guide*, 
lime tables, etc.. or ihcy may be addressed as follows: 



Atchison, Kan C. F. Lechler 

Boston. Mass., 102 Washington St 

Ijjuis W. Ewald 

Chattanooga, Tenn., i6 E Eighth St. . 

J E Rehlandcr 

Chicago, 111.. 1 1 1 Adams St 

. . Ellis Farnsworih 

Cincinnati, O., 409 Walnut St ^. . . 

A. A. Gallagher 

Detroit. Mich., 32 Campus Martjus ... 

..H D Armstronj; 

Indianapolis Ind., Roonr200. Sentinel 

' Building G. A A Deane. Jr 

Kansas City. Mo. 901 Main St C E Styles 
Kansas City. Mo.. 901 Main St J. H. Lyon 
Kansas City, Mo . 901 Main St E. S. Jewett 

Leavenworth, Kan .PC Lyon 

Lincoln, Neb., 1039 O St.. ..F D Cornell 




Louisville. Ky.. 202 Equitable Building 

R T. C Matthews 

Memphis. Tenn. .v4^'a•n St H D. Wilson 
New York City, .V^S Broadway W E. Hoyt 
Omaha. Kcb., corner I4th and Douglas 

Sis Thos. F. Godfrey 

Pittsburg. Pa.. Room 905. Park Build- 
ing John R James 

St Joseph, Mo., 6o2 Edmond St 

. Ucnton Quick 

Se<lalia. Mo J W. McClam 

St Louis, Mo B H Payne 

Si Louis, Mo.. 6th and Ohve.C B Gaussen 
St Louis, Mo.. Room 402 Union Siaiion 

W H Morion 

Wichita. Kan.. Cor Douglas and Wich- 

rtaSts •■ R Sherwin 



RUSSELL HARDING, 

ViccPresiandGenI Mgr. 

A.C.BIRD, C.G.WARNER, 

Vice President, Chicago. Vice Pt-esident 

ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI. 




FOR INFORMATION RELATIVE TO 1) 



ffOLRO^ 



WRITE TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING 
AGENTS OK THE 

LAND DEPARTMENT 

•-OF THE 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern and 
Little Rock & Fort Smith Railways 

GENERAL AGENT 
E: S. GR0NK-..-^^...==_..===. St. Louis, Mp. 

'DISTRICT AGENTS 

RIGHARD JAGKSON -Paragould, Ark. J. W. CHEEK-.....-... -.- Little Rock 

V. M. THRELKELD _ Conway, Ark. 

LOCATING AGENTS 

E. N. ROYAL .,_ _. Piggott, Ark. H. B. McKENZIE-. -...-. Prescott, Ark. 

S. G. DOWELL Walnut Ridge, Ark. JOHN W. YOES - -Van Buren, Ark. 

F. M. HAM _ Moorefield, Ark. S. CARRIGAN Hope, Ark. 

H. N. BEAM: _ Beebe, Ark. W. H. DUNCAN- Conway, Ark. 

W. G. CALDWELL .._ Searcy, Ark. N. T. HAWKINS Morrilton, Ark. 

V7. L. COOPER — Benton, Ark. R. B. WILSON _ - Russellville, Ark. 

J. P. MELLARD _Hot Springs, Ark. C. ELSKEN - Paris, Ark. 

A. M. GROW...- Arkadelphia, Ark. H. A. ALLISON Glarksville,Ark. 

J. P. KING ,_ Ozark. Ark. 




G-A-A-Deane 

LAND COM'R 

LITTLE ROCKARK, 




/ 




Illim'""'^ OF CONGRESS 
007 381 662 I ^ 




